/ Modified may 17, 2010 1:54 p.m.

INDEPENDENT LENS Please Vote for Me

What would happen if free elections came to China? A third-grade class experiences the voting process by holding an election for Class Monitor. Thursday at 8 p.m. on UA Channel.

A third-grade class at Evergreen Primary holds an election for Class Monitor, an important, authoritarian position that had previously always been appointed by the teacher. Three candidates campaign, holding debates and showing their intellectual and artistic skills, until one is voted the winner

As the film unfolds, we watch three 8-year-olds—two boys and a girl, all products of China’s one-child policy—wage a no-holds-barred campaign for the coveted position. The young candidates are egged on by their overeager parents, who encourage their children to use whatever it takes, including strong-arming, bribery, back room bargaining and personal attacks. What ensues is a campaign that rivals any American election in its lack of gentility.

Charming, surprising, and enlightening, the film reveals the details of daily life in Wuhan, a city in middle China about the size of London, where the family homes and modern schools are not so different from our own. Nor are the hopes and dreams of the children and parents, which proves that—at least during election season—human nature is universal.

Independent Lens

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona